PhD Research Fellow in Functional Inorganic Materials – (ref. no. 2011/3785)
A PhD Research Fellow is available at the Department of Chemistry, University of Oslo (http://www.kjemi.uio.no/), within the Functional Inorganic Materials research group under the supervision of Professor Serena Margadonna.

The fellowship is for a period of up to 4 years with 25 % compulsory work and is available from June 1, 2011. Starting date no later than October 1, 2011. The position is affiliated with the top-tier effort NAFUMA in the research group of Functional Inorganic Materials. NAFUMA is an integrated part of the Centre for Materials Science and Nanotechnology, and of the inGAP centre for research based innovation within catalysis and natural gas conversion. NAFUMA takes part in the national FME center on solar cell technology, and coordinates and holds many grants from the European Commission and the Research Council of Norway. The research environment is highly international, with adjunct professors, researchers, post docs and students of some 15 nationalities.

2011- Doctorate Programme in the field of Computational Logic by EPCL in Europe

Study Subject: Computational Logic
Employer: EPCL
Level: PhD

The European PhD Program in Computational Logic (EPCL) is run jointly by four of the leading European universities in the field:

• Free University of Bozen-Bolzano (Italy),
• Technische Universität Dresden (Germany),
• Technische Universität Wien (Austria), and
• Universidade Nova de Lisboa (Portugal).

Wageningen UR (University & Research centre)
A PhD student who will explore the technical and environmental aspects of sustainable cement production. The PhD will work at Environmental technology and Bioprocess engineering of Wageningen University in the STW project “Towards the development of CO2 neutral renewable cement (BioCement)” which is part of the STW Perspective program BioGeoCivil. Also two other PhDs will work in this project at the Faculty of Civil Engineering, at Delft University of Technology and Environmental Sciences of Wageningen University (see attachment). Special emphasis in this PhD study will be on the development and characterization of the simultaneous microalgal production of primary products, like oil, and silica/calcium carbonate as a sustainable process for the production of cement. The tasks include: Characterization and quantification of biomass-derived ashes: Literature and experimental study of silica and calcium carbonate minerals that can be produced by microalgae, including properties of such minerals from geological deposits of algal origin. Bio-based cement production from specifically grown feedstocks: Development of the production of microalgae with high silica/calcium carbonate content for the sustainable production of cement. Continuous lab experiments with photobioreactors to optimize growth conditions for the selected microalgae. The obtained key factors will be used to model the conditions for optimal production of microalgal biomass. The model will be used to develop the design criteria for a process pre-design to evaluate the pro’s and con’s for the development of a pilot-scale production unit of microalgal biomass for production of primary product and biocement resources. Quantification of carbon footprint, environmental properties: Mass and energy balances will be made to evaluate the carbon footprint of the newly developed biobased route. Also the potential environmental benefits to removal and cycling of P, N, and silicates in microalgal cultivation systems will be studied.

Study Subject: Research, Philosophy or Psychology
Employer: Deakin University
Level: Masters and Doctorate

Deakin University offers a range of scholarships for higher degrees by research.
Selection for scholarships is based on academic merit, research experience, publications relative to opportunity, alignment of the project with strategic priorities and the supervisory experience/support of the potential supervisor.The primary criterion is a high standard of Honours (a year of assessed research following an undergraduate course) or its equivalent. Equivalence could include: